Just a Kiss Goodnight by TwilightCakes
by Just a Kiss Contest
Summary: ENTRY FOR THE JUST A KISS CONTEST: Seth Clearwater will do anything to be able to give Regan, his imprint, a kiss goodnight. A 'Love This Pain' outtake, but can be read on it's own.


**Just a Kiss Contest**

**Story Title:****Just a Kiss Goodnight**

**Penname: TwilightCakes**

**Summary: After moving to Forks and living with her cousin Bella's father Charlie and his wife Sue, eighteen year old Regan is swept away with Seth Clearwater. Unbeknownst to her, Seth has imprinted on her and his feelings are quite the same. The only problem? He is ten years her senior. Unable to resist each other any longer, they soon take their friendship to the next level. Regan has just found out that Seth is a shape-shifting wolf, yet is still drawn to him. With the possibility of a secret love in the air, they are both losing the battle of trying to stay away from each other.**

**Word Count: 4856**

**Regan**

I sat on the edge of my bed, twisting my hands nervously. They just felt so _restless._I looked down at them, scowling as I remembered the feeling of his skin against them.

_Stupid hands. Why won't you let me forget?_

Blinking slowly, his face appeared in my mind before flashing back to my aqua-colored bedroom. I swallowed hard, trying to think of anything but him.

But it was impossible. I felt like he had been burned into my soul.

I stood up, running my hands through my hair as I fought to remain sane in his absence. It had been one week since I had found out that Seth was really twenty eight; he didn't look a day over twenty one. It had been one week since I had seen him burst into a giant ball of fur to protect me when Quil had accidentally phased after a fight with Claire. It had been once week since I had given into him, losing the constant battle against my feelings.

I was tired of fighting it.

I wasn't supposed to love Seth Clearwater.

But I did.

I was eighteen. Although he had explained to me that his phasing kept him frozen, immune to ageing, I still knew his real age. Twenty eight meant he was ten years older than me. Was that too much? My gut told me yes. But, thinking back to my arrival in Forks nearly a year ago, I had known from the second we saw each other that what we had between us transcended time and age. In the year I had been in Forks with Sue and Charlie, I had grown up considerably. I had arrived a frightened, troubled teen with trust issues. I had my share of screw-ups since coming to Forks, but no one had deserted or given up on me. Instead, I learned from my mistakes.

I didn't feel like a kid anymore.

But was I right for him?

Seth was my best friend. He was the older, goofy son of Sue who was always around the house, begging to stay for dinner. We would always hang out afterwards, watching TV with Sue or making fun of Charlie as he quietly snored in his armchair. We were just friends - that was the way it was supposed to be. But, as good of friends that we were I couldn't deny that I certainly didn't stare at my friends the way I did him.

And how could I not? He was beautiful. It wasn't fair that someone on the planet got to be that good looking, and the best part was that I don't even think he was aware of it. That made it ever better.

I paced around my room, half-heartedly trying to shake the image of his sweet, ever-smiling face from my thoughts. As much as I felt that I shouldn't think about him, I couldn't stop.

His sweet smile and bright eyes had become like the sun - and in Forks, I could use it.

The rain hit the windows of Bella's old room, mimicking my sour mood. If I was smart, I would continue to stay away from Charlie's stepson. He was kind enough to take me in and let me live here in his house - in his daughter's old room, no less, and here I was running around behind his back. I felt like I was breaking the law by thinking of his stepson that way. But did I care? I mulled that question over for a moment, desperation lacing my thoughts.

I hadn't seen Seth in a week, and I felt like an addict going through withdrawal. My skin itched, my body was jumpy, and my mind was going a million miles an hour.

Flopping down on my bed, I looked out the window. The streetlamp glowed in the distance, illuminating the droplets of rain as they slid down the smooth glass. I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin if I didn't hear from him soon. I felt sick with need.

Here it was Friday night and I was a senior in high school. While I should have been out with my friends, having fun, I was home pining away for my sexy, werewolf best friend.

What was wrong with me?

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, making me jump. I unhooked it from the charger, touching the screen lightly. It was a text, and it was from Seth. My hand shook as I opened it.

_**I'm not staying away because I want to.**_

My hand trembled again as I picked it up, trying to figure out what to say. I was finally talking to him, and I couldn't afford to screw it up. I needed him too badly.

_**I guess I knew that.**_

_**I miss you.**_

I swallowed hard. _He missed me?_He could have fooled me. I hadn't seen him in a week.

_**I miss you too. Why aren't you here?**_

_**I can't be. Charlie.**_

_**Oh.**_

_**I want to be. Believe it.**_

_**I do. This is hard.**_

There was a long pause, and I was afraid for a moment that I had offended him somehow. Then his next text nearly made my heart pound out of my chest.

_**I want to be with you so much it hurts.**_

_**So then be with me.**_

_**You know I can't.**_

I paused, my fingers poised over the keys. What did I say to that? He texted me back before I could come up with an answer.

_**I don't want to fight. You're still my best friend.**_

_**I don't want to fight either. I just miss you.**_

_**I can be there in five minutes.**_

_**Five?**_

_**Time me.**_

I put the phone down, shaking slightly. _What on earth did he mean? Time him? He wasn't going to…run, here was he?_

Glancing down at my phone, I made note of what time it was before rushing to my window. My eyes strained in the darkness, trying to see where he was. He had to mean running. It was easily a twenty minute drive to his house from here through the winding roads.

No, he had to mean running. I opened the window, allowing the chilly fall air to hit my face. It was November in Forks, and already pretty cold. Winter was creeping in, but for some reason, I didn't mind. _Seth would keep me warm_, I thought with a smirk.

I knew it was wrong for me to want to be with him. I was an eighteen year old girl, and he was twenty eight. Frozen aging of not, our relationship would definitely be frowned upon.

I felt like an addict.

I couldn't stop now.

I had gotten a taste of him, and I refused to let him go.

Seth was easily one in a million. Well, that whole 'wolf' thing helped his statistics there, but….even subtracting the whole shifting thing, he was still in his own category of man.

My hands trembled again as I gripped the chipping white paint of the windowsill. I wasn't going to be able to give Seth up, and I already knew it in my gut.

What do you do when you know something is bad for you and you just can't let it go?

I was about to find out.

My eyes strained against the darkness. Movement in the corner of the yard caught my eye, and I fought to see what was going on. Then, I saw him.

He moved through the dark yard slowly, the dry leaves barely making a sound under his feet. He was wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and some tattered looking khaki shorts, and it looked like the cold barely registered with him.

He was staring straight at me with the most hopeful gaze it almost broke my stupid little heart.

Pausing at the bottom of the house, he grinned at me before taking a running start. His long legs let him leap up the short distance to the trellis on the side of the house. His hands quietly grabbed at the wooden rungs, helping him scale the height of it in mere seconds.

I gasped as his face suddenly appeared in front of mine as I hung out of my window.

"Five and a half."

A large grin split across his features, and my Seth was back just like that. His bright, white teeth seemed to glow in the darkness, and I felt myself swallow.

_Keep breathing Regan._

"I knew you'd time me."

"Yeah…." I laughed.

"Do you hate me?" he asked, clutching the windowsill. He was balanced perfectly on the trellis, his arms flexed as he held himself up. His clean, masculine scent of pine and sandalwood wafted towards me and I caught myself looking at his lips.

"Reg….please?"

He wanted an answer to his ridiculous question. How on earth could I hate this man in front of me right now? I briefly wondered how anyone could hate Seth. It was like saying you didn't think kittens were cute. You just couldn't dislike him. He chuckled as he watched me space off, obviously entertained.

I snorted softly, my eyes flicking back up to meet his. "How could I?"

"I...feel like I've handled this whole week just…wrong."

"You didn't handle it wrong…" I started, biting my lip.

"I wasn't avoiding you, I just….when I brought you home the other day, I just could tell that Charlie…"

It was true. The weekend before had been perhaps one of the most wonderful albeit _strangest_ weekends of my life. Claire had gotten drunk, frustrated that Quil could only see her as a baby and not as an eighteen year old woman, and the two of them fought. When Seth went out into the driveway to separate them, Quil had burst into a giant wolf. Seth had offered me an apologetic glance before pushing myself and Claire further away and exploding into a snarling animal himself.

He had done it to protect me.

As shocked as I was, and as scared as I should have been….I wasn't. He explained to me that he had full control of it, and the best and most comforting part was the fact that he was still Seth. My Seth.

"I missed you. I wish you would come around more. But….Charlie…"

He nodded solemnly. "I know. Charlie. We have to watch out for Charlie."

"And everyone else….I mean-"

"Shhh," he whispered, his dark eyes glittering. I stopped, disentranced and somewhat caught in his wild, hypnotic stare.

"I promise we'll work out the details later. But for now….can we just forget everything else so that I can….well, kiss you goodnight?"

I blushed, blinking at him. "You mean you still want to?"

He gave me a confused look, and I was once again reminded that somehow, this man - this _perfect man_- seemed to return my feelings of sheer adoration for him.

"More than anything."

The words were barely out of his mouth before he let his lips collide gently with mine, placing a lingering kiss on them. He lightly sucked my bottom lip, tickling me faintly before swiping his tongue across it. Pulling away slightly, he paused, licking his lip. Slowly, he leaned forward again and kissed my top lip, moaning quietly under his breath.

His moan echoed relief.

"I should stop."

I smiled against his mouth, our foreheads still pressed together. He was hanging off my windowsill for goodness sake, and Charlie could come barging up here at any minute to find me making out with my werewolf best friend that was _sooo_off limits it wasn't even funny.

But who's keeping track anyway?

He kissed me again. Once more I felt the familiar sparks of electricity when his lips touched mine, and I felt like every nerve ending on my body was jumping up and down. He sighed, deepening the kiss and making me quiver a little. I wasn't sure if it was the chilly night air or the fact that kissing him felt like holding sparklers on the Fourth of July as a kid; slightly scary, but exciting and beautiful all at the same time.

We broke apart, both of our eyes suddenly wide.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I panted.

He bumped his nose against mine, tightening his grip on the window.

Okay, so apparently the answer was yes.

This was wrong. So, so wrong. He's my best friend. He's _older - much_, much older. We could get caught. Charlie would probably throw him in jail, just out of spite.

Something happened, a switch went off in my brain or something and I _like_d it.

So I kissed him again.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

**Seth**

"I should stop."

Never before had I said anything so difficult.

Because kissing her was like….the first breath after you thought you were drowning. It was like seeing sunlight or color or something else spectacular after living in a world of black and gray.

She was just that - the light in my otherwise livable yet insanely dull life.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she asked, smiling against my mouth. I inhaled slightly, assaulted with the scent of her breath. She always tasted so sweet, like she had just eaten some sort of berry.

Maybe that was just me being an imprinted jackass.

Whatever it was though…I liked it.

I _needed_ it.

I inhaled again, bumping my nose against hers. Our breaths were slightly ragged as I hung there on the windowsill, propped up on my elbows. My bare feet were propped against a piece of the white siding of Charlie's house and beginning to ache from holding my weight up, but I knew that this was all I could have tonight. If I went into that bedroom, I risked everything. I risked getting caught, and I risked getting banished from this house forever if Charlie found out what was going on. He wasn't stupid, and I wasn't about to test my limits.

So, I knew tonight all I would get was just a kiss.

But that was fine with me.

Regan's green eyes were dilated in the darkness as she leaned closer to me. Taking a deep breath, she leaned her forehead against mine and let a strand of her hair blow against my cheek. Her warm skin burned against mine, but in a good way. Of all the years I had spent as a wolf, feeling no cold or heat or anything out of the ordinary….touching her lit me on fire.

But a good fire.

A hot, blindingly beautiful fire.

I welcomed her warmth.

She made me feel _alive_.

I had waited so many years to find her, and now that I had her and knew what it was like to love her I couldn't let her go. Staying away from her was going to be torture. But what else could I do? She lived with my mom and step-father Charlie, and she was eighteen and still in high school. I, on the other hand, was an almost twenty nine year old cop. There was no way this would work out well, but I couldn't stop myself.

I leaned forward slowly, watching as her eyes flutter shut. Her lashes brushed against the top of her cheeks as I got closer and closer to her face. She exhaled and blew her sweet breath into me, urging me to close the distance between us quicker than ever. I captured her bottom lip, kissing it softly. I sucked on it lightly, needing to taste her.

I know it's bad kissing etiquette, but my eyes stayed open. I didn't know when I was going to even _see_ her next, so I had to take advantage of every second I got with her.

I had to memorize every detail about this kiss.

Where my kiss ended, hers began. It was a good thing I had a grip on that windowsill, because she leaned further forward and crashed her mouth into mine again. She mimicked my movements, taking my bottom lip between hers and sucking lightly. Her hand reached out, her fingertips just barely running along my jaw. Her warm touch made me shiver and forget who I was for a second; it might as well have been a feather touching me.

I couldn't even _move_. She just kept going. Kissing me, touching my cheek with her hand. I exhaled slightly between kisses, still positively hungry for her. Her hand slid down my cheek, across my jaw, and pressed against my neck. Her touch was warm and comforting and reminded me why she was my imprint in the first place; no other woman could ever have this effect on me.

She broke the kiss, her fingers grasping my jawbone in her small hand, and moved to my top lip. With the smallest movement, she brushed her lips against my top one, teasing me. She was _teasing me._

I sighed, trying not to smile, but I was too damn happy to _not_ smile.

She mimicked my grin, and I decided then and there that the second best feeling besides her lips kissing mine was the feeling of her smiling against my mouth. I joined her, both of us laughing softly. It was like we were both thinking, _'here. Here we are, doing this, and all that stupid stuff doesn't matter anymore. We're friends, we're just a different sort of friends now. We can kiss, and it's as amazing as we thought it would be.'_

Or maybe it was just, _'Holy shit, we're finally kissing.'_

I wasn't sure.

Then, she pressed her mouth to mine, our noses bumping softly again. I tried not to laugh, but it was impossible to not at least chuckle with how giddily nervous and excited we both were. Our kisses had been limited until now; I knew I wasn't going to go inside her bedroom, and she knew it too. Nothing besides kissing was going to happen tonight, and we both knew it.

This was the first time we were able to settle down without the nerves, the twisting in our stomachs, or the threat of someone seeing. Well, at least I hoped no one saw me hanging off the side of Charlie Swan's house, scantily clad and making out with his teenaged niece.

I really hoped no one saw me.

Her mouth moved again, drawing me back to the present. The heat of her hand burned into my cheek, but the heat was pleasant. Maddening, but pleasant. Little sparks of electricity were brimming between us and I never wanted them to stop. I had waited, imprint-less for years and I wanted to savor this moment, damn it.

She pushed her bottom lip between mine and I lost my grip on the window a little. Normally she wasn't that forward, but hey, I'd take it. I found myself sucking at her soft bottom lip, my tongue swiping across it to taste her.

Ah, there it was. That sweet, tangy berry taste. I wanted more of it, and before my mind could overrule my body I lifted myself up further, resting my elbows on the sill. I allowed one hand free to reach up and cup her cheek as I kissed her. She tasted so sweet and I just wanted more. Deepening our kisses, I tried to coax her mouth open just enough to touch her tongue to mine. I don't know what it was about French kissing that intrigued me so much; maybe it was because I'd always feared it as a teen? The act of touching someone else's tongue with my own was just…unsettling. Granted, the idea became a little more appealing the older I got, but I had never been quite this appealing before.

Her tongue timidly ran across my top lip, skirting away before I could taste her. I groaned and moved my hand to her hair, digging my fist into her soft locks. She made a soft moaning sound between kisses, and I felt myself smile a little against her lips. This time when I kissed her, she let me taste her.

I was such a goner.

I let my tongue touch hers, tasting the now-familiar tangy berry flavor. Then she licked my tongue. She _licked_ my tongue. Her high pitched little moan afterwards only egged me on as I leaned even further into the window.

If Charlie Swan opened that door to find me making out with his niece….I was so fucked.

For some strange, messed up reason the idea of getting caught only made this hotter. Dangerous. Forbidden. I could hardly contain myself as I leaned further forward over the sill, reaching for her. I forced my tongue further into her mouth, only to her tilt her head to a better angle and welcome it. Good Lord, she was really enjoying this as much as I was.

_Duh,_my mind chided me, _Imprint, remember_?

Regan sighed into my mouth, her small hand pressing against my cheek as she moved her mouth in synch with mine. I felt like a teenager again, making out with a girl until my lips were chapped and we had a curfew. Without knowing it, Regan made me feel like a teenager again. I desperately wanted to be a teenager again. If I was her age, then would we fit together the way we were meant to?

Sadly, I already fit with her. I knew that. It just wasn't socially acceptable for a twenty eight year old to date an eighteen year old high school girl. Would things change when I graduated?

But I wasn't going to think about that tonight. I wasn't going to think about how wrong it was tonight when I had Regan here, with me. Her hand in my hair, her other pressed to my cheek, moaning into my mouth and egging me on like this. I could feel her warm breath against my cheeks between kisses, and it felt like heaven.

I was born to kiss this girl.

Everything about me - my job, my family, my pack, my whole purpose in life - faded away when I was with this girl.

As I stroked my tongue against hers, I knew that she was having fun. Her little touches and licks and moans were making me insane with need, but for some reason I knew that this was the most I could get tonight. And I was fine with that. As crazy as it made me to only get this far with her tonight, it also pacified me. Because I knew that we fit together in other ways; but how did we fit without the physical? _Could_ we fit without it?

Thanks to tonight, I knew that the answer was yes. Because at fucking _hot_ as this was, this was all I really needed at the moment. Sure, there would be other times when I wanted more of her. I would need to feel her skin against mine, her hands all over my body, to feel nothing between us. But tonight, this was all I needed.

All I needed was this kiss.

I pressed my lips against hers one more time, savoring the feeling. I think the best and worst thing about this kiss was that I didn't know if it was our last one for awhile. I might be able to sneak one tomorrow. I might not even see her for another week. I didn't know what twists and turns live would throw at us. I didn't even know where we would be tomorrow. All I knew was that I had to savor this moment more than anything I'd ever done.

She pulled away, her eyes slowly opening to stare at me.

"Wow," she breathed, her warm breath blowing on my face as she exhaled. I smiled, feeling like my face would split in two from my wide grin.

"Is that a typical response?"

"No…that's what it was so….wow," she giggled, covering her face with her hands.

"Didn't you want to kiss me?"

She laughed again, pulling her hands away. "I did. I shouldn't….but I can't stay away from you," she admitted sheepishly.

"Ditto."

"Ditto?"

"Ditto," I assured her. Regan rolled her eyes as my response, but eventually a grin crossed her face as well. She gazed at me as I hung on her window sill, my arms starting to ache from holding my heavy body up for so long. But every ache was well worth it.

"What?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. She sighed, looking away briefly.

"You know…I think you probably have the sweetest smile I've ever seen. Every time I see you smile, I want to do the same. You're contagious, Seth. Even your smile."

"Most people just say I grin like a jackass."

"Well, I think it's sweet," she argued back.

"Thanks," I replied bashfully. She leaned forward, pecking me one more time on the corner of my mouth. A smile broke out on her lips as I watched, feeling my heart start to race in time with hers.

"See? Contagious."

I chuckled, shaking my head at her. "I should get going. I don't' want to push my luck with Charlie. If he comes up here…"

Regan nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "I know. I'm toast."

"Right," I nodded.

"So….you just came here to kiss me?" she prodded, giving me another grin.

"Pretty much…."

"I don't think I've ever had just a kiss goodnight."

I sighed, shaking my head again. "Regan….I'll kiss you goodnight anytime you want."

She didn't say anything after that. She just smiled, a blush rising up in her cheeks as I watched her.

"Can it be a nightly tradition?"

I grinned again in answer.

"Goodnight," I whispered, reaching up to touch her cheek. She leaned into my hand, biting her lip as I leaned back again, preparing to jump back down to the ground below.

"Seth, Seth wait!" She whispered, grabbing my arm.

"What?"

"You're going to…jump?"

I laughed. "Regan….you know that thing I did in the driveway?"

She nodded, looking down at the windowsill. "Turning into a giant wolf?"

I laughed, "Yeah. Turning into a giant wolf. Well…that makes me pretty much indestructible."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

"Really. Now I have to go. You got your kiss tonight."

"I did," she agreed, her green eyes sparkling. I leaned up, quickly kissing her one more time. We both groaned appreciatively at the contact.

"I have to go."

"You keep saying that, but I have yet to see it happen," she whispered back.

I laughed again, ready to see her eyes pop out of her head. With one leap, I sprung away from the window and sailed to the wet ground. I landed with a soft thump, barely jarring my body. I glanced up over my shoulder to see Regan in her window, slack jawed.

"Goodnight," I whispered, jogging toward the tree line. She watched me reach the edge of the yard, and I could feel her eyes on me as I snuck back into the woods. I was really glad I had picked up my phone.

It had gotten me the best kiss of my life.

It wasn't our first and I certainly hoped it wasn't the last. With her, I wanted to forget the rest of the world. I wanted to forget about ages, numbers, rules, Charlie….everything. I made a decision then and there that I would always be there - whether it was on a windowsill, a front porch, our home, or the _freaking moon -_to kiss Regan goodnight.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Big thank you to my twitter friend****ElvenIvy****for beta-ing this for me. She did a wonderful job and I owe her a big one for this!**

**If you would like to read the original story this one-shot came from, please visit my ff page and start with****'Love This Pain'****- this is an outtake from that story. I hope all of my 'Love This Pain' readers enjoyed this piece! If so,****please vote for it in the 'Just A Kiss' contest! You can find the link on my profile page.**

**Another thank you goes out to MnkyLuvinLady for getting my ass in gear and inspiring me to write a special outtake for Seth & Regan!**

**Reviews are like kissing Seth - they make you feel all warm and goofy inside : )**

**PLEASE VOTE! The link is on my profile page!**


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